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As India sets out to achieve its net zero targets, a few innovative projects are coming up where renewable energy, green hydrogen and microgrids converge to complement each other.
NTPC Limited is setting up one such floating solar, renewable energy-powered, fuel cell-based 50 kW microgrid as a pilot at its 2,000 MW Simhadri thermal power plant near Visakhapatnam.
At Simhadri, NTPC has already set up a 25 MW floating solar project, and, with the expertise of Bloom Energy, it is now developing a standalone fuel cell-based microgrid with hydrogen production. Explaining the project, Diwakar Kaushik, Chief General Manager at NTPC Simhadri, says, “During the day, the power generated by the floating solar panels electrolyse water to produce hydrogen. The green hydrogen thus produced is stored and later utilised for power generation during the night.”
Kaushik, who laid the foundation for “the world’s largest green hydrogen microgrid project” in December 2021, expects it to serve as a ‘proof of concept’ for similar ventures within NTPC and possibly elsewhere in the country.
Hydrogen will be produced by the advanced 240 kW solid oxide electrolyser using the power generated by the floating solar project during the day. The hydrogen is then stored at high pressure for use by a 50kW solid oxide fuel cell.
The system would work in a standalone mode from 5 pm to 7 am. The project’s configuration has been designed in-house. The company currently has an installed capacity of over 67,907.5 MW.
According to Kaushik, this will be India’s first green hydrogen-based energy storage project and one of the world’s largest. It would be a precursor to large-scale hydrogen energy storage projects, and useful for studying and deploying multiple microgrids in various off-grid and strategic locations of the country.
“This unique project will open doors for decarbonising far-off regions of the country like Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, and other areas where there are no transmission lines and are dependent on diesel generators,” says Kaushik.
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